Dawnrunner

Chapter 3

The dome lights have already dimed by the time I crawl out from under the paperwork on my desk and step out onto the street. Even with the temperature regulators running at full it’s a warm night, so I decline Rachel’s offer to drive me home and head towards the tram stop. I steal a glance towards the ceiling, but with only the light of street-lamps it’s impossible to make out the dome that covers the island, giving instead the illusion of a starless, moonless night sky. All I can hear is the rumble of the CO2 scrubbers high above me.
On the tram I press my phone to the Valkyrie network console, which automatically deducts the fare from my account. From my seat near the door I absently watch the news on the screen hanging from the ceiling, but there’s too much noise from the other passengers to hear it. It looks like the crime reports are just finishing: a man with a stern face, long blond hair, dressed in military fatigues and a bandage over one eye is staring back at me. Across the screen large red text reads WANTED: LAZARUS! A moment later the face disappears and is replaced by the weather report, including a countdown clock to the next rainfall, scheduled for Thursday morning.
Something explodes with noise from my pocket making my jump half out of my seat. It’s my new phone, with a picture of Vince waving at me already loaded as his caller-ID.
“Vince!” I yell into the phone, ignoring the look of derision I get from the other passengers. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry Carli.” He sounds serious. “Rachel said you’re on your way home now.”
“Yeah I’m on the tram.” Something in his voice has me nervous.
“Think you could get off at the stop in front of that restaurant we took you to a few weeks ago? I need to talk to you about something. It’s important.” If I wasn’t nervous before…
“Sure,” I tell him. “I’ll be there in ten.”
“Great, thanks. See you soon.” The phone goes dead and the picture of him waving is replaced by the giant V, reminding me to change my wallpaper.

The restaurant is a small Chinese place that has its main entrance off an alley. It is quiet inside so I take a table with the window facing the street and watch for Vince’s car. He drives an older-model hybrid that still runs on petrol some of the time, though he gets charged a fee each year for the extra strain it puts on the purification pumps. It’s a black convertible and very Vincent. Looking at him driving it you would never know I make more in a year than he does.
I’m only at the restaurant 10 minutes before Vince pulls up. He’s moving very fast and it’s impossible to know if he’s nervous or excited. No one meets him at the door so I sacrifice my grace and shout to him across the room.
“Hey, Carli. Thanks for meeting me.” He leans in and kisses me on the cheek before sitting down. “Are you hungry? On me, of course.” I don’t really feel like letting him buy me dinner, not after he bought me the phone. He’s always in trouble with Rachel because of his spending.
“No, I’m fine,” I lie, praying my stomach doesn’t growl and give me away. “What do you want to talk to me about?” Vince’s eyes seem to be everywhere at once. Whatever is worrying him has got him wound tight. Finally I decide to go with my instincts. “Vince, is this about the Dawnrunner?”
At the mention of the train he makes a face like he’s eaten something unpleasant. “No, it’s not… well, sort of… I had to tell you first.” I take his hand to try to stem the tide of babbling.
“Vince, what is it?” I ask, putting on my inquisition face.
“I’m going to ask Rachel to marry me.”

I’m stunned, speechless. For the second time in two days I feel a total disconnection with my body. It’s only after the feeling comes back to my senses that I realise I’m smiling.
“Vince! That’s wonderful!” I scream, completely forgetting the fact that we’re not alone. The table between us is the only thing stopping me from jumping up to hug him. “But you know Rachel is going to kill you for telling me first!”
“I know, I know. But it’s important.” His face seems magnetised to the table top, definitely not ‘excited-Vincent’.
“What’s wrong? You know she’ll say yes.” This brings a smile to his face, but only for a moment.
“It’s the trip. There’s no way we can do the wedding before you go. The registration alone takes a couple of months.”
“That’s the problem?!” I feel like laughing. “So you ask her now, that way you’re engaged before we leave, and you have the wedding when we get back!”
“It’s not as easy as that, Carliah.” I’m really scared now: he never uses my full name, no one does unless they're really serious. “That train is dangerous, everyone says so. They say it gets attacked every time it goes out.”
“We’ll have protection: the military, dozens of them… hundreds! I’ve seen the lists. What could possible hurt us with all of them there?!”
“You know the stories Carli. There are… things, out there. Creatures.”
My fists land on the table, hard. “Say it, Vince, say the word: Vampires! It’s like you’re still 5 years old and you think there are vampires out in the dark.”
“Of course not, Carliah, don’t be stupid! But there is something out there. Why else would they have the UV gate?”
“No, this: this is stupid! You’re like one of those freaks who thinks that anyone who goes outside the dome is going to be eaten by monsters!”
“You’re a biologist for God’s sake! What about the things you and Rachel are studying?”
“What do you think we’re studying Vince? Really?” I can feel my voice breaking under the stress. I have never been this mad at Vince before, not ever. “I’ll tell you, alight? Animals! We’re studying animals, affected by the cataclysm. We look at the new diseases that have emerged, trying to figure out why some animals are extinct and some aren’t, so we can protect ourselves!”
“I just wanted you to think about it, to think about what you’re really doing by getting on that train.”
My happiness from the thought of my best friends getting married has been completely vaporised. “What are you saying Vince? You don’t want me and Rachel to go?” Restaurant or no, I can’t control my voice. “We have been waiting for this our whole lives! We will finally get to see the sun! We will finally get to see something outside this God-forsaken bubble of an island with its God-forsaken dome!” By the time I’m finished I’m shaking and Vince is completely pale, like there’s not a drop of blood left in his face.
“Carli … I… I didn’t mean anything like that,” he sounds like I just accused him of murder.
“No, Vince, just stop.” I stand up and pack up my purse. I’m glad I didn’t order any food. “You know I think you and Rachel belong together, and that you should marry her. But we are getting on that train in three weeks! If you can’t deal with that, then maybe you should reconsider.”
A waitress wearing a very worried look on her face comes running up to our table just as I turn to leave. She asks me something in difficult English but I ignore her and head for the door. I’m only a few stops from house so I don’t worry about waiting for the tram.

At home the white ribbon from Vince’s birthday present is still lying on the desk. Without thinking I pick it up and throw it at the rubbish bin in the corner, missing pathetically. I’m annoyed with myself for how upset I am: after all, it’s not like I’m the one almost-not being proposed to. I’ll need a good night’s sleep before I face Rachel in the morning, and hopefully I’ll know what I’m going to say by then. For both their sakes, this can’t come down to a choice between Vince and what’s outside the island. She’s always been more curious about the outside world than anyone I’ve ever met, and her desire to see the sun is at least as strong as mine, probably stronger. As much as I know she loves him, I just can’t see him winning that decision.